By Suzanne Vranica and Isabella Simonetti
Big brands are returning to Fox News, contributing to a run-up in its parent company's shares that has validated a series of contrarian bets on the future of entertainment.
Ace Hardware, MSC Cruises, coffee maker Lavazza and consumer product company Unilever aired national commercials on Fox News in 2025 after not appearing for a few years, according to ad-tracker iSpot.
Fox News attracted hundreds of new national advertisers last year, the company said in its most recent earnings report, helped by growing viewership. Some ad buyers say clients advertise on Fox News in an attempt to speak directly to President Trump, who frequently watches, and many companies are touting investments in American production or contributions to the U.S. economy. The network allows brands to reach people in the middle of the country, some buyers said.
Advertiser interest is particularly strong on shows including "Fox & Friends" and Bret Baier's "Special Report," said Jeff Collins, ad sales chief at parent Fox Corp.
Last year, the cable network saw its highest ratings ever in a nonelection year.
"Outside of sports, it is so hard to get any kind of mass audience in cable," said Dave Campanelli, president of global investment for Horizon Media, an ad-buying firm.
Fox Corp. sat out the headiest days of the streaming boom. It parted ways with much of its entertainment assets years ago. And it put a live cable news network at the center of its strategy. Today, those moves are paying off.
Fox shares are up 42% over the last 12 months, and recently hit fresh all-time highs. Fox Corp. and Wall Street Journal parent News Corp share common ownership. Fox's cable network programming brought in roughly 75% of the company's adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in the three months through September 2025.
While some brands pulled their ads from Fox News after controversial remarks made by show hosts Laura Ingraham and Tucker Carlson several years ago, such boycotts have largely disappeared and now brands want to reach Fox's audience.
Mark Penn, CEO of ad firm Stagwell, said brands' aversion to advertising alongside hard news writ large is beginning to thaw. Penn has partnered with media publishers including The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and the Washington Post on studies debunking the idea that having ads appear near news stories harms brands.
Stagwell increased spending on Fox News by about 19% in 2025 compared with the prior year -- more than it did across all TV and online news.
Fox's $71.3 billion sale of the major entertainment assets of 21st Century Fox in 2019 effectively anchored the business around programming that people watch live, John Nallen, president and chief operating officer of Fox Corp., said in an interview. "Companies that have owned the long tail legacy entertainment channels have been the ones that have been the most challenged."
Fox focused on its core cable news business and invested in live sports, including the NFL, Major League Baseball and recently the acquisition of one-third of Penske Entertainment, which owns the IndyCar Series and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Like its competitors, Fox is dealing with the rising price of valuable live sports. The National Football League has the right to opt out of its agreement with Fox at the end of the 2029 season. Nallen said Fox is committed to keeping those rights.
"They have to do whatever they can to keep the NFL," said industry analyst Michael Nathanson.
While rivals plowed billions into direct-to-consumer streaming offerings, Fox largely steered clear as the market found its footing. Fox News in 2018 launched Fox Nation, which intended to complement the network's offerings with programming such as "The Saints," a docudrama narrated by Martin Scorsese. Fox also created a direct-to-consumer product called Fox One last year.
Streaming services are "beasts which require to be fed," said Rob Wade, Fox Entertainment's chief executive. "We haven't had that distraction."
Parent company Fox is now placing bets across its stable of media properties to attract new, younger audiences. Fox News last year struck a licensing agreement with "Ruthless," a prominent conservative podcast featuring several former Republican political strategists. Fox Sports signed a content deal with Barstool Sports last year that included having its founder, Dave Portnoy, and other Barstool personalities appear on Fox's college football pregame show, "Big Noon Kickoff."
Fox Creator Studios, a new division, is collaborating with creators to develop content for their own social-media channels and potentially for Fox-owned platforms. Fox executives hosted advertisers and creators, including Rosanna Pansino, a YouTube baker with nearly 15 million subscribers, at the upscale Italian restaurant Carbone in Las Vegas during CES in early January.
Write to Suzanne Vranica at Suzanne.Vranica@wsj.com and Isabella Simonetti at isabella.simonetti@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 16, 2026 17:37 ET (22:37 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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